Kings defenseman Alec Martinez will miss his third consecutive game with a finger injury, and while Martinez did another conditioning skate Thursday, it’s not yet known when he will return to the lineup.

General Manager Dean Lombardi recently pegged Martinez’s recovery time at ”one week,’’ which would indicate a possible return for Saturday’s game at Dallas, but Coach Darryl Sutter downplayed that idea.

”We’ve just got to wait for the wound to heal, and that’s going to take some time,’’ Sutter said. ”I know Dean said it was a week, but…it’s got to heal. They nearly cut his finger off, so I don’t think I could play in a week.’’

Martinez suffered the injury to his left pinkie finger during the second period of last Thursday’s game against Dallas, and required a minor surgical procedure the next day. Martinez apparently suffered significant damage to the skin and nail bed near the tip of the finger.

Martinez didn’t talk to reporters before or after his skate, but wore only a small bandage on the finger and indicated that it was doing better.

Still, the Kings won’t rush things. As Sutter pointed out, beyond the risk of re-injury, Martinez must be mindful of infection. Plus there’s the issue of pain, gripping a hockey stick and other related concerns.

”Your fingers do have a pulse in them, and it does hurt,’’ Sutter said. ”Marty is tough. We’ve seen him play, not with little-finger injuries but with big injuries. So it’s painful.’’

The Kings also remain without defenseman Slava Voynov, who will miss his 14th consecutive game because of suspension.

Rich Hammond was a high school senior when the Rams left town in 1995, and now he's their beat writer for the Southern California News Group. A native of L.A., Rich broke in at the Daily Breeze as a college freshman and also has covered USC, the Kings, the Lakers and the Dodgers. He still loves sports and telling stories. Don't take the sarcastic tweets too seriously.